You can forgive Steven Stamkos' teammates for thinking it was an April Fool's joke.
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost their captain to a blood clot in his arm Friday, and he underwent successful surgery Monday, the club announced. It's unknown how long Stamkos will be out - anywhere from one-to-three months - and he will be re-evaluated in two weeks. His teammates, meanwhile, are still digesting the news on both a hockey and a personal level.
Brian Boyle, who considers Stamkos a close friend, was blindsided by the news.
"Completely shocked, really, almost in disbelief. You feel for the guy so much," Boyle said, as quoted by The Tampa Tribune's Erik Erlendsson. "On a personal level it makes you sick to your stomach, almost. The passion and drive that kid has for this team and the game, the way he conducts and handles himself, he does everything the right way, it seems a bit unfair. It's something that you don't really understand and you just feel for the guy."
Valtteri Filppula echoed Boyle.
"It's a big, huge loss, and first of all you worry about the health, that’s the most important thing to put hockey aside," he said. "On the hockey side, it's tough having that kind of guy who's been playing well for a while now out, so we just need guys to step up a little bit more."
According to head coach Jon Cooper, it's up to the guys who are healthy to ensure Stamkos and injured defenseman Anton Stralman play hockey again this season.
"... the one thing we can't do is say our two big guns are out and now our season is over," Cooper said. "We've come way too far to have anything like that try to get in to our mind-set. So it stings, it hurts and it's clearly not ideal. But we have to be pros. ... So that has to be our mind-set, let's get them back and not make this the end of their season."
The Lightning can clinch a playoff berth - their third straight - with a point against the New York Islanders on Monday.
